For the second time this year an India Space Research Organizations (ISRO) rocket has failed spectacularly mere moments after launch. This most recent failure, captured for all time in this image, occurred 47 seconds after liftoff on Christmas Day.

Earlier this year a test rocket flight entered the Bay of Bengal, not orbit, when its rotor seized and a turbine ruptured during liftoff.

Space flight and rocket launches are undeniably tough, and these things do indeed happen, but we hope India has everything smoothed out in time for its first manned space flight launch, tentatively planned for 2016. [MSNBC]